True Detective

Two detectives revisit a Louisiana investigation in the opening season of True Detective. The movement between the case and later questioning makes their accounts part of the mystery, rather than simply a way of delivering it.

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson give Rust Cohle and Marty Hart a friction that can carry a scene without any new evidence arriving. Their working relationship is as compelling as the investigation, with very different attitudes toward the job and toward each other.

The series changes its cast and setting between stories, so one season's strengths should not be treated as a promise about every other one. The opening run is the clearest reason to start: dense atmosphere, patient investigation and two performances that make the time spent talking worthwhile. Its disturbing material and deliberate pace are part of that experience.